A year ago, Caroline Piasecki’s
life was turned upside down when she became a victim of revenge porn. Thanks to
her ex-boyfriend, everyone at college suddenly knew who she was, what she
looked like naked, and she was receiving daily explicit messages from strangers
taking advantage of her plight. A less-than-conventional relationship with
campus bad-boy West Leavitt makes her happier than she’s ever been, giving her
the confidence to overcome this hurdle in her life – until family circumstances
force West to give up his scholarship and return home to Oregon.

When West calls Caroline in the
middle of a family crisis, she’s on the first plane out of Iowa. Caro is
willing to do whatever she needs for West – just as he helped her in her time
of need – however much he tries to push her away. As they move back to Iowa
with his younger sister Frankie in tow, they’re together again, but nothing
will ever be the same again. West is angry at the world and with his classes to
catch up on, grades to keep up, his sister to look after and a job to keep on
the go, it’s a wonder he hasn’t buckled under the pressure. Caro is there for
him when he’s ready to give voice to his feelings, but he’s loath to share.
Meanwhile, Caro’s impending civil suit against her ex- is looming and she’s got
to make up her mind whether she wants to exact revenge, or use her victimhood
to do good …

Just like Deeper, Harder was fantastic. Perhaps not quite as amazing because it's book two and subsequent books can never quite match the stunning beauty of the first book in a series, but it was good all the same. Harder doesn't quite pick up where Deeper left off, for which I'm immensely happy about: time has made West cynical and disillusioned with the world. His love for Caro has been suppressed and deeply buried - as if he doesn't want to subject such pure feelings to the reality that is his home life. It's gritty, painfully real and one of the reasons why I love Ruthie Knox so much.

I need more books in the Caroline & West series if only to
keep up with these wonderful characters, though I’m pretty certain that with
the way the book ended, there is unlikely to be more books in the series. Even though there are some pretty dark moments, I love Ruthie Knox for being able to pack so much hope into just a few simple paragraphs. Caro and West are just at the beginning of their lives and future together and it's truly heartwarming to see such a positive ending to an experience that is usually completely shattering for victims. A spin-off
series with Frankie as the main character would be super cool for a few years
time.

There was a point in Deeper where I was mad at Caro for not
making West grovel enough. He could probably have done with grovelling a bit
more in Harder because he did do some
seriously shitty things, but he was definitely contrite enough. Again, chapters
alternate between Caro and West’s point of views and Ms Knox is a master at
both – there just aren’t words to describe it. A truly beautiful work of art
that I would be more than willing to read again and again and again.

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I'm a Law LL.B. graduate from the University of Sussex. I currently work in Contracts for a London-based children's publisher. I like to read, make jewellery, watch TV and sleep. Occasionally, I'll get really passionate about some esoteric area of law because I'm a complete law geek. Read more under the 'About Me' tab.